Anything
by spockandawe
Summary: Tahno's desperate to get his bending back. How far is he willing to go for it? TW: dubcon


I know this is a minor ship, but I love its twisted dynamic. Even though I love reading about messed up emotional/sexual relationships, this is my first try at writing dubcon. It was fairly exhausting and turned out three times as long as I first intended, but it was an interesting experience.

* * *

Tahno had thought that first day would be the worst. It wasn't. It was miserable enough in its own way. He could feel his bending missing. There was a space inside him where it should have been, but he just felt hollow and weak. The water wouldn't answer him. At first he assumed it had to be some mistake. But Ming and Shaozu were just as badly off as he was, and he could still _feel_ what Amon had done to him.

He finally stumbled home, escorted by a pair of metalbending police. He could see the pity when they looked at him. He slammed his door in their faces. It was almost dawn when he gave up on trying to bend a bowlful of water, but the hours of mindless, unproductive activity had given him some ideas. Amon had hurt him, so it should be possible to heal him. Pro-bending victories had earned him lots of money. He had plenty to spend on the best waterbenders in town.

Nothing. Nothing at all. It was even worse when every single one refused payment. After they tried to heal him, they looked down at their hands, up at the ceiling, anywhere but into his eyes. They told him to keep his money, not to waste it on them when they hadn't even managed a cure. One old woman called him a 'poor thing,' as she walked him to her front door.

It didn't get better. When he woke up in the morning, he could hardly find the energy to even dress himself anymore. He used to love the way fans would recognize him on the street. It would have been better to be completely anonymous. People stared and whispered, mothers shooed their children away. He rarely ate. Even the Avatar looked down on him now. He hadn't thought he'd at least have her anger for what he'd said, how he'd cheated. No. It was more of that suffocating pity. He at least managed a smile, but as soon as he turned away he felt himself slump back down.

Tahno never stopped thinking there might be a way to get his bending back. If the best healers couldn't do anything, he'd still ask the others. Or perhaps his body would just remember how to bend one day. He kept a bowl of water on the table. Every time he passed it, he tried to bend. It never worked. Nobody answered the phone when he tried to call Shaozu. Ming's house looked deserted. It was a struggle to drag himself out of bed and down to the market to buy food.

After some time, he had a thought. It was awful. Even he could tell that it was a desperate, impossible, _stupid _idea. But if anyone knew how to fix him, it had to be Amon. It gave him new energy. It couldn't really work out like that. It was definitely the worst idea he'd ever had. Still, anything seemed better than living this life. Feeling like half a man. Empty. Just the thought made him feel almost alive again. He just had to find Amon. The worst that could be happened was that he'd be turned away. There wasn't anything there wasn't anything left for him to take.

It wasn't difficult to find the Equalists. There was nothing the Avatar and city could do to hold back the movement. It was only half a day's work to find one of their hideaways. When the guards challenged him, he managed a passable imitation of his old drawl. "Tahno of the Wolfbats to see Amon." The two men looked at each other and escorted him inside.

Tahno had never expected to be left alone with Amon. Perhaps he should have brought a knife. Something. Did he even have the strength to fight anymore? Probably not. He hadn't stood a chance even with his bending and surrounded by water. Of course it would have been hopeless. He watched Amon work in silence at his desk for some time. It would have been the moment to take the lead in the conversation. What could he say? Nothing came to mind. He stood and watched the blank mask as Amon wrote.

Finally, the other man stood. "Why have you come here?"

Tahno tried his best to speak confidently, but he knew how pitiful the effort must have been. "I'm here for my bending. You took it and you can give it back."

Amon sighed. "Why would I want to do that."

"I need it. I _need _it. It's who I am. I've lost everything without it."

"You've lost everything?" Amon stood and walked around the desk. Closer. Tahno knew he should run, but this was it. The last chance for everything. "You have two hands. Two feet. No more and no less than many of the people who live in this city."

Tahno looked down at his hands. They were shaking. "My bending is part of me. I would do anything to have it back. _Anything_."

"Anything at all?" Amon laughed and took a step nearer. "You don't know what you're saying, boy."

Every instinct screamed for him to run, but he couldn't give in. Amon could cure him. Amon was perhaps the only person in the world who could give his bending back. He shook his hair back from his face. "I know what I said."

He could see those eyes staring at him through the mask. Amon leaned in closer and Tahno tensed in anticipation of that touch, but the other man turned and went back to his chair. "It wouldn't be worth my time."

Tahno closed his eyes for a moment and took a deep shuddering breath. "I can make it good for you if that's what you want."

"Why would I? Just look at yourself. Unwilling and undesirable. I have absolutely no interest in you."

"I'm not unwilling." Tahno forced himself to move closer. The words sounded stiff and unnatural. "I want this. You." Anything for his bending. Anything. Anything. It was a struggle to take each step. Amon looked engrossed in his paperwork, but Tahno reached out to touch his arm. To caress his arm.

When Amon looked up his eyes were narrowed. "I don't think your heart is in this. It would be like sleeping with a corpse."

"No!" Tahno straddled Amon's lap and pressed himself against the other man. "Take me. Please."

Amon sighed. "Well if you really want this-" He tore open Tahno's shirt, sending buttons flying. It took all his willpower not to shrink away from that touch. Amon's hands were moving against his body, pulling down his pants, fondling him so roughly it was difficult not to cry out. He fought to smile. Yes, he wanted it. Anything for his bending.

He could already feel that Amon was hard against his leg. He knew how to touch him, but the actions were forced and mechanical. This wasn't a lover. This was something else. Amon stood, pressing him down against the desk. The expression of the mask, even the eyes behind the mask never changed. He flipped Tahno over, grinding against him from behind. Was this actually happening? It felt too surreal, like a dream he couldn't wake up from. Could he stop this? But no, he needed to make Amon happy.

Amon yanked Tahno's pants down and opened a drawer to rummage around in his desk. He tried to see what it was, but a hand at the back of his neck kept his face crushed against wood and papers. He tried not to gasp at the feeling of the cool liquid against his skin. Lube. That was one small mercy. He was just finding the rhythm as Amon's fingers stretched him before the hand pulled away and something else was put in its place. Now? But he wasn't ready yet. It was too soon-

He couldn't help crying out as Amon pushed into him. It hurt. This wasn't right. This wasn't what a lover felt like. He did his best to go through the motions, arching and moaning and pushing back against the other man. He could feel it when Amon sped up, grabbing his hips hard enough to bruise and slamming into him harder and harder. It was almost over. Almost. He'd done it. It would all be worthwhile.

After Amon finally pulled away, Tahno rolled over and sat up. It hurt to move, but he did his best to smile. It was done. He'd get his bending, and that would be it. But there was something about the look in Amon's eyes that made him uneasy.

"Why, Tahno, you didn't come. What's wrong? I thought you _wanted_ this."

He tried to stammer apologies and excuses, but Amon sat back in his chair and simply watched him with steepled hands. Surely he didn't- He couldn't- Tahno reached down to touch himself and heard the laugh from behind the mask. Smile, smile. He was hard, but he'd never been so uninterested in orgasm in his life.

It wasn't easy. He did his best to think of something erotic, but all he could think of was pain and a hand holding his head against a desk. He needed to make the right face. Noises. It had to be believable. Amon watched impassively as he stroked himself. When he finally came and cried, "Amon!", he felt sick to his stomach, but managed a shaky smile.

He straightened his clothing as well as he could and let a minute or two pass before he mentioned the bending. Amon was straightening the papers on the desk, but Tahno was impatient to have his cure. He only got as far as, "My bending-" before his voice trailed off into silence.

Amon laughed.

Tahno waited a moment, but nothing else followed. "You promised! I gave you what you wanted so you'd give me back my bending-"

"I never said I'd give you anything, boy. In fact, I can't. You're just like the rest of us now and nothing can change that. But there's nothing to regret, is there? I only finished what you began."

Tahno was shouting now. Screaming. He clawed desperately at Amon as the man took a few quick steps to the door and whispered to someone outside. Guards burst in, dragging him away. Unconsciousness was a blessing.

He woke in a gutter. He struggled to his feet, hoping that everything had been just an awful dream. The pain he still felt told him the truth. He stumbled back through the streets, clutching his ruined clothing around him, until he reached his cold, empty house. He fell onto his bed, staring hollowly at the bowl of water across the room. He lay awake for most of that night. It wasn't until he poured out the water and hid the bowl that he was able to fall into restless sleep.


End file.
